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Abstract

Infections with coxsackieviruses of type B (CVB) induce severe forms of acute and chronic myocarditis that are often accompanied by ventricular arrhythmias. The mechanisms underlying the development of virus-induced, life-threatening arrhythmia, remain largely elusive. Here, we show time-dependent CVB3-induced modulation of the cardiac ion channels Kv7.1, hERG1 and CaV1.2 in vitro. Channel protein localizations within cells and plasma membrane abundance are altered in infected mouse cardiac cells. In silico analyses of infected human myocytes suggest increased risk of arrhythmogenesis. These modifications are attenuated by the common Asian polymorphism KCNQ1-P448R, a genetic determinant preventing coxsackievirus-induced effects in vitro. This study provides a previously unknown explanation for the development of arrhythmias in enteroviral myocarditis, which will help to develop therapeutic strategies for arrhythmia treatment.